


Into The Looking Glass

by poisontaster



Series: Sateda Dean [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, Past Relationship(s), Recovery, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-17
Updated: 2007-05-17
Packaged: 2018-05-01 04:09:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5191613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisontaster/pseuds/poisontaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after Dean is rescued by Atlantis Expedition. Dean takes in his environment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into The Looking Glass

Ronon puts his hand over Dean's wrist for the third time. It bugs him how much obedience is still ingrained in him, to be still at the touch of that hand. He puts his fork down with a clatter and cuts his eyes at Ronon.

Ronon chuffs quietly, smiles and leans back in his chair, supremely unbothered by Dean's glare. "Food's not going to disappear, runt. You're going to make yourself sick."

Dean grunts, tapping his foot under the table. His shoulder aches. The doctor wanted to give him something for it, but Dean takes the pain over the risk of being fuzzy if (when) something goes down. He rolls it reflexively, testing range of motion and degree of pain and catches Ronon looking at him again.

"What?"

Ronon shrugs. "Nothing."

"Quit staring at me, then." Dean picks up the fork again, stirs the white stuff with the brown glop on top. He starts to lift it to his mouth, remembers Ronon's words and puts it down again, scowling. "And don't call me runt."

Ronon laughs, deep and loud, from his belly. His belly clenches at the sound of it, so familiar and real, something he thought he'd never hear, never have again.

Dean's noticed most of the Lanteans—other than Rodney, and anyone arguing with Rodney—are quiet people. Ronon's laugh draws startled looks. Mostly they try to be covert about it but their idea of 'covert' is pretty laughable and Dean feels his shoulders hunch up again. He ignores the ache.

At the last moment, though, Dean catches Sheppard staring and there's nothing covert about the way he looks at Ronon. Dean thinks he notices it because it's the first sense of kinship he's ever felt for Sheppard. He recognizes that look. Knows it intimately. Sometimes, when he had time to think about such things, he wondered how _everyone_ didn't look at Ronon that way.

Wanting. Aching. Ripped through with it.

Across from him, Ronon goes still and Dean knows that he noticed Sheppard's look too.

It's not jealousy he feels, exactly. Just the strange pinching reminder that, as much as his life had gone on in the absence of Ronon, Ronon's life had moved forward too. These are not Dean's people, but it's becoming more and more clear that they are Ronon's.

"So," he says, stirring the glop again. The gravy makes a swirl like a seashell in the white tuber stuff. "You and Sheppard?"

"Hmm?" Ronon looks over at Sheppard then back down at his own tray. Dean watches Ronon's wrists flex, smooth muscle and ropelike veins. The Ronon in Dean's mind is so much older than him, so much more… Dean runs out of words, even in his mind. It's strange to see Ronon like this, only another man, as if 'only' is a word that can ever be applied to Ronon Dex.

"No." It takes Ronon a minute to say even that much. He shakes his head, some of the shorter dreads falling out of the clubbed back mass. Ronon glances in Sheppard's direction again. Sheppard's talking to Teyla and Rodney, pointing at one of their data pads and abruptly, Dean wonders if Ronon would rather be sitting with them. If he misses it, stuck babysitting Dean instead. "I thought…" Ronon sighs and shrugs. "I don't know. They're weird. They don't… They don't do that. Or _Sheppard_ doesn't."

 _Even though he'd like to_ , Dean thinks, strangely, savagely satisfied by the thought. He files it away for later. 


End file.
